How to Say Hello in Polish

Chris MiksenUpdated March 23, 2017

Learning a foreign language comes with a lot of difficulties, but learning how to speak Polish is easier than other languages such as Latin or Chinese. The Polish language lends itself well to the English language, as they share a similar alphabet, except the Polish alphabet does not contain a "Q," "V," or "X." Learning the basic Polish greetings such as "Hello" might help you ease into learning the rest of the language.

Take out any gum, lozenges, or mints. Pronouncing words in a foreign language requires you to have full control of your tongue.

Say "Czesc" to simply say "Hello" in Polish. Czesc is pronounced as "Chesht." However, greeting people by the time of day is done differently. Say "Dzien dobry" to say "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" to someone. It is pronounced "Jen dough-bree." Good evening in Polish is "Dobry wieczor." It is pronounced "Dough-Bree Veetch-oor."

Address men as "Pan" and women as "Pani" and then their surname.

Shake hands if you are greeting a man. If you know the man well, then you may either kiss cheeks or rub cheeks with him. Kiss the hand of a lady if you are a man, and give the lady a kiss on the cheek if you too are a lady.

Tip

Do not greet someone by the person's first name until invited to. It is considered rude to do so. Hosts will introduce you to one another at parties, typically introducing you to the women first and then the men. Touching or kissing a man's cheek when greeting him is common among the older crowd, but it is not practised as much by the younger generation.

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About the Author

Located in Pittsburgh, Chris Miksen has been writing instructional articles on a wide range of topics for online publications since 2007. He currently owns and operates a vending business. Miksen has written a variety of technical and business articles throughout his writing career. He studied journalism at the Community College of Allegheny County.